Tried a French laundry-style plating for my prix fixe menu and it bombed compared to family style

I run a little 20-seat spot in Portland and last month I decided to get all fancy with my plating for a special 5-course menu. I spent like 30 minutes per plate making these tiny little tweezers-style garnishes and perfect sauce dots. The first couple tables were polite but I could tell they were confused - people kept asking for extra bread to wipe up the plates. Finally a regular customer said bluntly that it felt "too fussy" for the vibe of the place. So this week I switched to a big shareable family-style setup with bowls in the middle of the table. Orders are up 15% and people are actually eating everything instead of leaving half the components behind. Has anyone else found that simple communal dishes beat fancy individual plates in terms of customer satisfaction?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_susan22d agoMost Upvoted

Oh for heaven's sake, you spent 30 minutes per plate? I'd need a nap after the first two tables. My husband once tried to get fancy and put edible flowers on everything. People just pushed them to the side and asked if they were from the yard. Family style makes so much more sense for a 20-seat spot. Folks want to pass the potatoes and feel like they're at a real dinner party, not a museum.

logan23622d ago

Ain't it the truth, you just want folks to feel at home and not like they're eating art.

the_linda21d ago

Oh, I read an article about this trend in some food magazine. They called it "deconstructed" dining and said it was all about the chef's vision over the customer's comfort. Apparently one place in Chicago served a deconstructed beef stew where you had to assemble the broth and meat yourself at the table. People just wanted a bowl of stew, not a puzzle. Family style sounds like a better bet for a small spot like that.